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Report from City Manager Maurice Jones: City Council created the ad-hoc Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials and Public Spaces (BRC) on May 2, 2016 to address the questions and concerns brought before Council regarding the statues of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Eleven commission members were appointed after an application process. [ 47-meg 328-page Report from Charlottesville.org. Also archived at blairhawkins.net/RH/2016BRCReport.pdf. The BRC voted 6 to 3 to keep the statues, add historical context and to change the names Dec. 5, 2016. Blair's Magazine wrote 2 stories about the report and discussed it on the Schilling Show.
A final report was presented to Council on December 19, 2016. The Council reviewed the Commission’s recommendations at its January 17, 2017 meeting. On February 6, 2017, the City Council voted 3-2 to remove the Lee statue from Lee Park. (Subsequent to the events of the summer, the vote changed to 5-0.) In separate motions, the Council voted unanimously to rename both Lee and Jackson Parks and to move forward with developing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for professional design services to create a Master Plan for the Historic North Downtown and Court Square Districts.
On April 17, 2017, the Council voted to hold a naming contest for the two parks and asked the staff to forward the top ten appropriate suggestions to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Historic Resources Committee for each group’s consideration. The charge for both boards was to provide the Council with three naming options for each park. Located below are the top ten appropriate names for each park as collected by the City via the Charlottesville.org web site during a three week period of time in the spring of 2017. There were 1,382 suggested names for Lee Park and 1,355 names for Jackson Park. Over 1,100 submissions were received for both “Lee Park” and “Jackson Park”. However, those names are not responsive to the request to provide “new” names for the parks.
The Parks and Recreation Board submitted the following names for Lee and Jackson Parks:
The Historic Resources Committee voted as a group on the Committee’s suggestions. They are as follows:
On June 5, 2017, City Council voted to re-name Lee Park to Emancipation Park, and Jackson Park to Justice Park. Discussion: In December 2017, City resident Mary Carey brought a petition to the City Council requesting the City reconsider its decision to change the name of Lee Park to Emancipation Park. The petition (attached in two separate documents) encourages Council to “immediately” rename the park. Numerous suggestions were included in the petition. Council directed staff to place the item on a future agenda. Council also asked to open the process to both Emancipation Park and Justice Park, as well as hold a public hearing. The Council has several options:
The urban renewal agency requests funding for renovation of 23 of the 376 units of public housing proper. The funding "drawdown" will come from the $2.5 million set-aside from the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund (CAHF) to Redevelopment of public housing. The Housing Authority also manages 300 housing vouchers, including the Friendship Court 150-units acquired originally as public housing. $81K will go to Centennial Contractors, with a 45-page contract from 4 months ago that itemizes the apartments. The report graphics show one unit at in-the-news Crescent Halls but I can't find it in the listing. The improvements in the 30+ year old apartments include bathroom vanities, plumbing, electrical, and floor repairs. Over the years there have surfaced many complaints about lack of maintenance and security. $110K will go to CRHA for non-labor administrative support. In past years the Housing Authority has received $5 million annually from Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Since formed in 1954, CRHA has had only HUD funding until 2007 when Mayor David Brown connected a local funding stream. On Jan. 7, 2013 City Council raided the Redevelopment fund. But funding resumed in City Manager Sep. 14, 2014 Housing Authority review with $200K for a Redevelopment Coordinator and Modernization Coordinator, $125K from CAHF and the rest from Human Services and Self Sufficency position.
The latest agenda on Tuesday is different from past reports, which avoided any mention of history. CRHA was formed "by referendum vote of the citizens of Charlottesville in 1954." Times are slowly changing. The Housing Authority page on the City website has been revamped and now includes a mention of history. It also further proves CRHA is a local City agency. Because of urban renewal and public housing, the Housing Authority is the most controversial of the city's departments, the most shrouded in secrecy and misinformation. Some people think it's a federal agency with HUD funding. Some say CRHA is an independent quasi-pseudo government body. So when you complain to the City, they say it's a federal or rogue agency. Complain to HUD, they say it's a local issue. This "artificial wall" of separation was debunked by the urban renewal chairman Dave Norris on Dec. 20, 2012, and by others as well. From 1954 to 2007 all the funding came from HUD. But all the property came from City Council's acquisition and disposition of land. The 1954 referendum authorized Eminent Domain to seize and sell real estate for the first time in City history. The Affordable Housing Report postponed from the last meeting is postponed again apparently. The Housing Advisory Committee (HAC) had not weighed in on the subject. The report shows the housing charities are charging poor people for the home repairs the housing fund is supposed to pay for. Also the nonprofits seek to place the poor in a permanent disadvantage as a way to collect back the equity in order to keep your house affordable.
From the 41-minute video. Final item + 3 speakers. Friday February 23, 2018. The local public housing department's (CRHA) request for $191K funding to repair 23 units will come through the Consent Agenda March 5. Mayor Walker thinks the Housing Authority is a "separate entity" from City Council (about minute 12). Councilor Mike Signer asked how the "independent agency" has spent City funds in the past (minute 6). The latest urban renewal director Grant Duffield did not know. City manager Maurice Jones talked about the 2014 funding of 2 positions. If CRHA is a separate entity from the City, why are they asking for money from the City? Why does Councilor Wes Bellamy serve on the corporate board of a separate entity? Why does City Council appoint all 7 of the CRHA corporate board members, the urban renewal commissioners? In fact, the separation exists only in the psychology of City Council. CRHA was created as a local City department by referendum in 1954. All the funding came from HUD until 2007. All the Eminent Domain has come from City Council. City Council owns all the public housing and all the vacant super-blocks. In 2007 Mayor David Brown connected the local agency with federal funding...with local funding for the first time. Logically HUD would reduce its contribution. At the end of tonight's meeting, Brandon Collins spoke, who works for City Council under the guise of the Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR). At one point he actually said, "Trust Us." He said recent resolutions of the urban renewal commission has designated 1976 Crescent Halls as first priority for "redevelopment". Walt Heinecke said he's received feedback from the public. Their desire was that the Council create a Human Rights Commission (HRC) to address Housing and Employment discrimination. City Council chose explicitly to exclude housing and the Housing Authority. On Dec. 20, 2012 the urban renewal chairman Dave Norris and his colleauges passed unanimously Resolution 1313 that CRHA has always been a City department, and the "separate entity" is an "artificial wall" of separation. Resolution 1312 was the Barment Policy. Chairman Norris also asked repeatedly that the HRC apply to CRHA. The Daily Progress omitted this news. But Blair's Blog recorded the history. The City Market West 2nd Street SUP (Special Use Permit) will come back to Council on March 19. At the last meeting it failed on a 4 to 1 vote.
Regular City Council meeting Monday at 7 pm. Watch LIVE | Agenda with Background | City Council Page "The City of Charlottesville currently administers a number of programs to address housing affordability [...] by (1) making existing housing more affordable for low-income senior, disabled and veteran households; and (2) encouraging the development, redevelopment, renovation and preservation of affordable housing throughout the City’s neighborhoods. Commissioner of Revenue Programs
Tale Of Two Speeches – Mary Carey Shuts Down City Council. Monday December 18, 2017. (Share) Black supremacist Mary Carey threatens safety of Councilor Kristin Szakos several times. Allowed to stay. Carey began her speech by thanking a group called Ebony.It went down from there. Szakos insisted Carey be removed. Antifa Attorney Jeff Fogel became disorderly in defense of pro-black racism. Fogel himself is a violent person. Camera was turned off. At 7:33 pm cameras came back on. Carey was allowed to stay. The Black racism won. Szakos apologized. In the previous speech, Jason Kessler threatened nobody and called for inclusion. Yet police escorted Kessler from the chamber. So we have yet more proof that the police and City Council are racist. Other breaking news is the new police chief has resigned. The Council meetings are the 1st & 3rd Mondays at 7 pm. Watch the meeting LIVE. Agenda | Background | Minutes Land Bank Is Latest Urban Renewal Real Estate Scheme. Monday November 20, 2017. (Share) 12 years ago almost to the day, City Council passed 4 to 1 the Charter Amendment Section 50.7 Housing and Community Development. 7 new powers to seize and sell real estate. 4 new powers to fund the felonies. Va. Senate stripped out the Eminent Domain powers, leaving the low-income homeowner subsidy program, which usually has a surplus because qualified owners choose not to apply. The Land Bank deals with a specific problem. How to entice a developer to purchase Housing Authority (urban renewal) property seized and for sale since the '60s and '70s, which has many strings attached. They won't sell at auction. The hope is a developer will buy the urban renewal land from a Land Bank but not from the urban renewal agency. Sort of like when the City donated "surplus public land" to Habitat. Because that was illegal at the time, the transfer went through Piedmont Housing Alliance. Land Trusts also have come up as possible solutions to the shortage of affordable housing caused by the Housing Authority urban renewal agency and other housing charities. A land trust creates a bureaucracy to own the land, where tenants have lifetime rights but not full Due Process of ownership. The Land Bank appears to serve as a middle-man for real estate transfers. The public is more sophisticated today than 12 years ago. 11 citizens expressed concerns. The City Treasurer warned the ordinance would set a precedent of ear-marking general tax funds to a particular non-profit agency. 50% of property tax would funnel back to the Land Bank program. The public questioned why we need a new committee to duplicate the work of HAC - Housing Advisory Committee. Because status quo housing charities are eliminating affordable housing in a specific way, mentioned by 2 speakers. Affordable for 50% of Area Median Income means your current home affordable at 25% AMI just doubled in price. No housing cost is being REDUCED to 50% AMI. The most disappointing was to see Brandon Collins' fall from respectability. Collins was arrested earlier this year in connection to local Antifa. Collins started out advocating for residents of public housing. When the landlord began to fund PHAR, the neighborhood association began to work in the interest of the landlord (City Council Housing Authority). So Collins is now part of the corruption where affordable housing charities are eliminating affordable housing. In 2013 City Council raided the public housing redevelopment fund. The links below tell the story. This post is based on the video. I haven't looked at the Agenda yet. Land Bank 11-20-2017. 56 min includes 15 min recess. Action is deferred. From City's TV10 Archive.
10-2-2017 City Council Agenda 214-page 54-meg PDF 18 items with background material. | Minutes. Charlottesville has been swimming in corrupt money for many years. We can make perpetual interest-free loans. We can spend $10 million to be reimbursed later. All the spending at the regular meetings is off-budget. In 2007 Council made a 5-year interest-free loan to Dogwood Housing LLC to subsidize 57-units of so-called affordable housing. The landlord wants to extend the loan a third time for a total of 15-years. In addition to the $850,000 loan, Dogwood Housing must count the free interest as income. Most likely the company is too risky to get a bank loan. Another $900,000 from the Affordable Housing slush Fund will pay the rents of Dogwood Housing illegal immigrants brought into Charlottesville to dilute the local electorate. The land-stealing Charlottesville Housing and Redevelopment urban renewal Authority and middle-man for land thefts Piedmont Housing Alliance will actually spend and benefit from the money. How do you know it's a slush fund? (1) They can't account for where the money went. (2) The criteria list is long and finally ends with ANY ARBITRARY REASON.
9-18-2017 City Council Agenda 198-page 10-meg PDF 20 items with background material. | Minutes. Double standards will be on display at Monday's regular meeting, from inconsistent procedures to outright favoritism. Often history exposes injustice from inequality because you need two events for comparison. Sometimes both standards are juxtaposed before your very eyes, which requires political (polite) correctness or double-think. The 1940 Albemarle County Historical Society is now called Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society. It has been at the McIntire building since 1993, owned by the City as the public library until a 1977 city-county joint venture purchased the old downtown post office next door for the existing library. The first public library was a couple blocks away at Court Square in the days of Jefferson. It's the closest thing to the Robert E. Lee statue, ground zero for state-sponsored violence on August 12, Occupy Charlottesville in 2011, and countless festivals and homeless people. Yet the Society has been silent on government efforts to destroy the artifacts and landmarks of local history at their doorstep.
The McIntire Building – built for use as a City library by Paul Goodloe McIntire – is one of the more stately properties in Charlottesville. It was first leased to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society in 1993, after an extensive renovation organized by the Society, using a combination of donated funds and a loan from the City.What is the consistency of the agenda itself? Spending money is called Appropriation and Resolution. Appropriaion requires 2 readings. A resolution is only one reading. On Monday there will be 4 resolutions to spend about $2 million and 5 appropriations to spend about $1 million. Seven of the 9 spending bills are snuck through the Consent Agenda (list of bills passed in single vote). A consent item can be passed at the beginning of the meeting, but discussed only at the end of the meeting. Special interest initiatives allocate $2 million for the Carlton Views Phase 2 development from Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund. Other real estate issues deal with various slush funds – Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Patnership. To release an easement for natural gas lines back to the free market, you need 2 readings (regular meetings). It's the 2nd reading to spend the $12,000 on Rose Hill Neighborhood historic survey. What a mixed message! Destroy history in many parts of town while pretending to care about history in other parts of town. There's an update on the Rain Tax. Columbus Day will become Indigenous Peoples Day (resolution = once). The final late-night item is a Statement of Economic Principles. It's sure to be Orwellian double-think. While the local economy, posioned with unjust ideas like non-profit and tax-exempt, continues to contract since World War Two, the rhetoric is from the past when historical principles of civil rights led to prosperity. Cognitive dissonance is unsettling. In recent years City Council has stopped following traditional procedures and created confusion. Every parent knows routine is necessary to prevent children from acting out. Every parent should know that loving one child more than the others creates resentment. Being unable to challenge your parent's double-think creates hostility.
9-5-2017 City Council Agenda PDF 260 pages from City Hall. | Minutes. The regular public meeting starts at 7:00 p.m first and third Mondays unless holiday. It's usually preceded by a closed meeting. Review of city council procedures. Call to Order. Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call. Announcements. PUBLIC COMENT. CONSENT AGENDA. Agenda Items { Appropriation (2 readings). Resolution (1 reading). Ordinance (2 readings). Eminent Domain (1 reading). Sale of Seized Property (2 readings). } PUBLIC COMMENT. Adjourn the Meeting. Why don't you trust City Council? The Consent Agenda is their biggest lie. They claim they're not sneaking through legislative items. Yes they are. The items are good enough to pass at the start of the meeting BUT not good enough to be discussed and passed. Moving the item to the end of the meeting proves they are being sneaky. Yet a councilor or city manager will look at you with a straight face and say....Why don't you trust me? What can the citizen do when a politician says something obviously false and dishonest? Speak the truth early and often. The purpose of the speech restrictions since Jan. 2016 was to allow Council to go unchallenged when they speak absurdities. Item K should be dropped. It's a $12,000 matching grant from Va. Department of Historic Resources. Charlottesville is not interested in historic preservation as proven by Lee and Jackson monuments, which is shared history of whites and blacks. City Council has offered not one African-American historical marker. The Vinegar Hill monument is an abstraction, intentionally devoid of actual names and history. Council think they can mandate historic preservation in Rose Hill, Woolen Mills, and Fifeville while destroying history in other parts of town. This double standard proves the bigotry of City Council. Say that and Council will call you a racist for proving they are racists. Furthermore Council will expect respectful treatment in the face of obvious disrespect for the flag to which they pledged allegiance at the start of the meeting.
City Council will fund the Vinegar Hill monument because the community did not want an urban renewal marker exclusive to only one neighborhood. Liberation Day March 3, 1865 is elevated to a City holiday. 8-21-2017 Council Agenda PDF from City Hall. | Minutes 8-21-2017. (Last published Minutes as of Jan. 3, 2017.)
More on how the City Council has been broken since 1924 Lee monument.
Previous Reports on City Council.
Council Refuses To Release Urban Renewal Archives. Nov. 20, 2006. "Monday night the 5-member city council refused my plea to 'investigate what happened to the archives of urban renewal.' [...] only Kendra Hamilton responded to my 3-minute speech. She said I should talk to the Housing Authority’s new executive director since 2005. The concern may not have been passed on. Hamilton is the Council’s staunchest supporter of urban renewal. At first glance, it all seems fine…unless you know the back-story."
Blighted House Demolished By Eminent Domain Ordinance. on Nov. 17, 2011.
Council spends almost $1 million off-budget, debuts budget process. March 7, 2011. “When someone flushes their toilet in Forest Lakes, we don’t want to smell it [in Woolen Mills]” – Allison Euring.
Human Rights Commission Passes. May 20, 2013. The public is divided into at least 26 groups according to 13 criteria. The ordinance does not spell out which race is to be favored and which is to be discriminated against. (1) Race
(2) Color
(3) Religion
(4) Sex
(5) Pregnancy
(6) Childbirth or related medical conditions
(7) National origin
(8) Age
(9) Marital status
(10) Disability
(11) Gender identity
(12) Transgender status
(13) Sexual orientation.
Mayor Huja Shuts Down Dialog On Race. Jan. 7, 2013. " The real dialog on race finally came to City Council Monday night. In public comment some stereotypes were shattered while others were reinforced." City Council raided the urban renewal public housing redevelopment fund. Blair Hawkins | Charlottesville, Virginia | healingcharlottesville@yahoo.com | Résumé | Top Home | Blair's Blog | Facebook | Youtube | TV10 | TV10 Archives | Weather |
